Naruto: Sasori
by avatarfan364
Summary: ..."Just as Grandma said, Hiruko is part of my collection. And with you and Grandma Chiyo, I will have exactly 300 puppets in my collection! This is my art!" Sasori explained...
1. Chapter 1

Please R&R

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**Shippuden Episode 19-27**

**Team Kakashi**

Kakashi's team and Guy's team are able to break into the hideout of the Akatsuki.

Sakura ran towards the wall and crushed it with her fist; Kakashi quickly jumped off as the rock wall came crumbling into the water. Sakura and Chiyo got out of the way and they all jumped in.

'Were we too late?' Kakashi thought as it appeared as if the ritual to extract the demon from Gaara has already been completed because in front of them stood Deidara and Sasori.

**Team Guy**

Might Guy was standing on the side of a rock hill when the earth rose behind him. He turned on his radio.

"Neji, can you see what's happening over here?" Might Guy asked Neji. Neji used Byakugan and saw what was going on.

"It's the same here." Neji answered as the ground beside him rose.

"Tenten, how about you?" Might Guy asked her as water rose in front of her.

"It's probably the same." Tenten answered.

"Lee?" Might Guy asked as the ground in front of Lee in the forest.

"As soon as I removed the tag, a strange shadow appeared in the forest." Lee answered.

"I thought so." Might Guy replied as he turned the rock in front of him.

**Team Kakashi**

'Team Kakashi was able to break in, as planned." Deidara said.

**Team Guy**

Tenten watched and saw the water form into the shape of herself.

"What is this?" Tenten asked.

"It's probably one of the enemy's traps." Lee said as the earth in front of him shaped like himself.

"I see." Might Guy said as he looked at the earth in front of her that formed into him. Neji readied to battle his own clone.

"So that's how it is." Tenten said as she also ready to battle.

"Is there no end to our opponents?" Lee asked as he readied himself.

**Team Kakashi**

Naruto saw that Deidara was sitting on Gaara.

"You jerk! Where do you think you're sitting?" Naruto yelled.

"There's no mistaking it. He's the Jinchuriki. The first thing he'll do is scream and charge at you. Itachi actually described him quite accurately." Deidara said to Sasori but Sasori was busy looking at Chiyo.

"Gaara! How can you be asleep at a time like this? Stand up! Gaara! Hey, Gaara, are you listening? Stop it already!" Naruto yelled.

"Stop it Naruto! You should already know." Kakashi ordered.

"That's right. You get it, don't you? He's been dead for a while." Deidara said as he knocked his knuckles against Gaara's face.

"He's definitely the Jinchuriki." Deidara replied.

"Give him back. Give back Gaara, you jerks!" Naruto said as his teeth started growing into fangs and he ran towards them but Kakashi stopped him.

"Calm down. If you charge right in without thinking, we're all dead." Kakashi explained.

**Team Guy**

Might Guy looked at his opponent.

"Shinobi normally operate in three-man or four-man teams." Might Guy said into his radio.

"But in order to remove a five-seal barrier, you need at least five people." Neji added.

"One group wouldn't be enough to remove it. You'd have to wait for another one to show up." Tenten added.

"Having to remove the barrier is a delay all by itself." Lee clarified.

"And on top of that, they've set up a trap to go off if anyone manages to remove the barrier." Might Guy pointed out.

"A copy of whoever removed the tag will appear." Neji figured out.

Tenten threw a kunai then ran with her copy right beside her then stopped.

"So they're preventing us from going in after taking the barrier down." Tenten added.

"In other words, we won't be able to assist Naruto and the others until we defeat ourselves. Is that how it is?" Lee asked.

"Exactly, Lee." Might Guy answered.

"They break up the four man team and take on each person separately. For them to protect the barrier like this... quite impressive." Neji replied.

"But, we don't have time to sit around admiring their work!" Tenten pointed out.

"Right! Let's begin!" Lee agreed as he charged at his own opponents.

Might Guy rantowards his clone and tried to land a kick but the clone blocked it and sent his own kick that Might Guy blocked. They both jumped back.

"That's what I'd expect of my copy! You're good." Might Guy said.

Nejitried to hit his clone but he dodged every single one then sent his own attacks.

'He doesn't just look like me. He has the same abilities, too.' Neji thought.

Tenten brought out her weapon scrolls and sent kunai at the clone but the clone mirrored her actions making the kunai counteract each other.

"We should assume they're carrying the same weapons as us." Tenten replied through her radio.

"So absolutely everything is the same? Now I'm really excited about fighting you!" Lee asked as he ran through the forest with his clone beside him.

**Team Kakashi**

Naruto looked at Sasori then Deidara then Gaara and gritted his teeth in anger. Sasori looked at him then Deidara.

"What's wrong, Master Sasori?" Deidara asked.

"I'll take him. It seems this Jinchurriki wants to take him back." Sasori replied.

"Looks like it." Deidara agreed looking at Gaara.

"I believe the guy on the left is the one that broke in and took the Kazekage. Meaning the other one is the puppet master who seriously injured Kankuro. Her grandson, Sasori." Kakashi explained looking at Chiyo.

"Master... you might get mad at me for saying this, but...I'm going to fight the Jinchuriki.

"Each of us gets our own. Don't get cocky, Deidara." Sasori pointed out.

"With art, you must constantly seek greater and greater stimulation, or your ability to appreciate it will dull. I've heard rumors that the Nine –Tailed beat Jinchuriki is pretty powerful. He'll be perfect for my art." Deidara lectured.

"What? You call those explosions 'art'? Art is something that endures the test of time beautifully and gracefully. True art is eternal beauty." Sasori opinionated.

"Eternal beauty? Master, I respect you as a fellow artist, but art is something that blossoms for an instant before withering away." Deidara declared.

"What did you say?" Sasori asked.

"Wh-What's up with them?" Sakura asked.

"Deidara, apparently you don't understand what true art is." Sasori repeated.

"That would be you, Master." Deidara pointed out.

"You jerks!" Naruto yelled.

"Eternal beauty is the only true art." Sasori repeated again.

"That's absurd! Art is a beauty that lasts for just a moment." Deidara told him.

"Stop screwing with us!" Naruto yelled as he brought out a Summoning Scroll and summoned a large kunai wheel. He grabbed it and threw it towards Sasori but using his extendible iron tail he defended himself by rotating it around the body.

"Are you trying to make me mad?" Sasori asked Deidara ignoring the Leaf ninja.

"That's why I said that this would probably make you mad!" Deidara said.

"You should know what happens when I get angry!" Sasori threatened as he pointed his tail at Deidara.

'He stopped the shuriken without even looking at it.' Sakura thought.

'So his puppet mastery remains as skillful as ever.' Chiyo thought.

"What do you say, Deidara?" Sasori asked as the tip of the tail dripped in poison towards him.

"To me, the essence of art is... " Deidara started as he stood up; the mouth on his hand spat out clay and Deidara shaped it into a small bird or insect.

"...explosions!" Deidara answered as he threw it in the air and made it larger.

"It's completely different from your silly puppet shows." Deidara pointed out as the bird picked up Gaara in its mouth. Sasori threw the tail towards Deidara put he dodged and jumped onto the bird.

"Later, Master!" Deidara yelled as the bird flew over Kakashi's team.

'You'd better follow me, Nine-tailed Jinchuriki.' Deidara thought. Naruto growled and ran after him.

'Freaking Deidara acting by himself!' Sasori thought.

"Wait, darn you!" Naruto yelled as he followed Deidara out of the entrance of the cave and ran after him.

"Nice!" Deidara said as he continued flying.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled as he ran after him.

'Naruto! He isn't going to control himself after all!' Kakashi thought as he stopped.

"Naruto and I will take care of the guy outside. Sakura and Chiyo, I'll leave this guy to you. But don't take any unnecessary risks. Wait for Team Guy to come back!" Kakashi said as he looked at Sasori.

"Got it!" Sakura replied as Kakashi ran off after Naruto. Kakashi landed by Naruto on the red square arch in front of the hideout. They watched as Deidara's bird flew in circles. Deidara looked down and saw Kakashi.

"He's coming too?" Deidara asked himself.

"Guy, come in! The enemy split into two groups. We need backup. Come back right away." Kakashi said through his radio.

"I'm afraid I can't. We got caught in the enemy's trap. Kakashi, please give us more time! Over and out." Might Guy answered as he looked at his clone and Neji, Lee and Tenten fought their clone.

**Guy's Team**

Might Guy saw the clone readying and took a kick but the clone sent his own; they both got cuts on their left cheek. they both landed on separate ledges on the other side of a waterfall.

'These movements! So we're an even match,' Might Guy thought as he readied.

Neji stood by his clone surrounded by craters and boulders.

'He looks the same, has the same strength, and even uses the same techniques as me!' Neji thought.

Tenten's weapon was deflected by the clone and both weapons fell in the river they were in. they then both summoned chains but they caught each other.

"It's like fighting my mirror image!" Tenten said.

Lee knocked down a tree in an attempt to hit the clone.

"If they're supposed to be mirrors, then all we have to do is break the glass." Lee said as he dodged his clone who jumped from behind.

"Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee yelled as he bounced off a tree limb and aimed at the clone; the clone flew back but was undamaged.

"It looks like this won't be an easy win." Lee said.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

"Give Gaara back!" Naruto yelled at Deidara who simply smirked.

"I... can't afford to hold back." Kakashi said as he lifted his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan.

**Sasori, Sakura, and Chiyo **

"I thought you retired a long time ago." Sasori said to Chiyo.

"I had a sudden desire to see my grandson's face." Chiyo replied and Sakura gasped.

'I can tell just by looking at him. There's a huge difference between our battle experiences. And then there's a number of people he's killed...' Sakura thought and gulped.

"Sakura, don't be frightened. I'll fight him. You stay back." Chiyo said as she walked towards Sasori and pulled out wire lined with nine kunai.

"Flying Blade Manipulation!" Chiyo said as they flew towards Sasori but his tail deflected some of them but a few manage to cut his clothes.

"If you're going to oppose me, then I have no choice. Will you become part of my collection along with that brat, Grandma Chiyo?" Sasori asked as he cut his cloak with his tail to reveal a heavy back shell for additional defense.

"Wh-What is that?" Sakura asked.

"That isn't Sasori's real form." Chiyo answered.

"If that's true, then I think I see what you're getting at." Sakura added.

"Correct. That is a puppet." Chiyo agreed.

"But then, where's his real body? A puppet master usually pulls the strings from behind.' Sakura asked as she looked at Sasori.

"His real body is inside." Chiyo answered.

"Inside?" Sakura asked.

"Puppet masters are poor at close-range fighting. It's easy to leave openings when controlling the puppet. In other words, that puppet is a way around that. The puppet becomes their armor, as well as their weapon. That is Sasori's 18th puppet, Hiruko." Chiyo answered.

"Grandma Chiyo, you recognize it?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. I know it well." Chiyo answered.

"Do you know how I add to my collection? First I tear out the organs. Once I've washed it clean, I drain all of the blood. After I've made sure it won't decay, I fill it with weapons and traps, and make its addition official. Just as Grandma said, Hiruko is part of my collection. And with you and Grandma Chiyo, I will have exactly 300 puppets in my collection! This is my art!" Sasori explained.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

Kakashi and Naruto watched as Deidara hovered over them.

"Gaara..." Naruto said as he watched him.

"Should you really be fighting me? Sharingan Kakashi. Just for the record, Master Sasori is stronger than me. Probably. Although our opinions differ greatly on what real art is." Deidara asked.

**Sasori, Sakura, and Chiyo**

"Art, huh?" Chiyo asked.

"Elder Chiyo?' Sakura asked.

"When he was in the Sand Village, he created many impressive puppets, and was widely regarded as a genius." Chiyo said remembering Black Ant, and Crow.

But his real interests lay in transforming humans into puppets, and collecting them. He claimed that it was 'art' that puppet Hiruko... was once a shinobi of our village. Sasori turned him into that. Puppets that maintained their original form are called human puppets."

"Human puppets..." Sakura repeated.

"And you're next. You will become one of my works." Sasori said as he raised the scorpion tail.

"Hiruko is a battle-type puppet. But regardless, we must first separate it from Sasori." Chiyo replied.

"So what should we do?" Sakura asked.

"His additions to the puppet are the most dangerous part. As long as we don't know what he's done to it, we can't tell where and how he'll attack." Chiyo pointed out.

"But you know how that puppet works. We have the advantage." Sakura stated and Chiyo nodded.

"That's why I said that I was going to go by myself at first." Chiyo explained.

"At first?" Sakura asked.

"But now I don't think that will work." Chiyo replied.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Its form is different from the Hiruko I knew. It never had such a large shell on its back. So the defenses have probably increased. And this is the first time I've seen that left arm. In which case, he may have changed the most important weapons as well." Chiyo explained.

"What should we do?" Sakura asked.

"In order to defeat Sasori, we must destroy Hiruko first. Unfortunately, I don't have the physical strength to smash it. But you do, Sakura. You have Princess Tsunade's infamous... brute strength." Chiyo said as Sakura looked back and remembered how she had smashed the entrance rock wall.

"Listen closely, Sakura. First we'll get close to him and break his puppet with your strength. But, you must dodge all of his attacks. Every last one. You can't let them even scratch you." Chiyo pointed out.

"Because they're poisoned." Sakura figured out.

"That's right. A mere scratch can be life-threatening." Chiyo said remembering Kankuro, "In order to avoid a puppet's traps, you must understand the battle style of puppeteers, consider the full capabilities of the enemy puppet and make a quick judgments about how to move."

"I don't stand a chance." Sakura pointed out.

"Indeed. That would require a great deal of experience in actual battle. " Chiyo agreed.

"Then how...?" Sakura asked.

"What do you see me as? Some useless old prune? Or... leave it to me! That's why I'm here!" Chiyo asked as she removed her headband and her top bun.

"His advantage does not lie in actual experience. He knows that, which is why he won't attack recklessly. He's the type of boy who hates to wait or make others wait. And besides, we get the first move! Sakura, lend me your ears." Chiyo said and Sakura came towards her.

"Together, you and I will defeat him!" Chiyo said.

"What are they planning? I can't hear anything from over here." Sakura said as he watched Chiyo whisper to Sakura and Sakura nod.

"Got it. Let's give it a shot!" Sakura replied as she readied for battle.

"You ready yet? You know I hate to wait." Sasori asked as he pulled on the mask over his face.

"Relax! Soon, we'll defeat you!" Chiyo said as Sakura grabbed a kunai from her side and twirled in her hand.

Sakura and Chiyo ran towards Sasori who ripped the mask off and rapidly launched senbon from his mouth; they both dodged them all.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto **

"Looks like they've started. You think a little girl and an old hag will be enough to stand up against Master Sasori?" Deidara asked.

'He'd clearly would rather fight Naruto one-on-one, if possible. This is a shinobi who defeated the Kazekage single-handedly. Naruto probably won't be able to handle him alone.' Kakashi thought.

"Sensei, please go to Sakura." Naruto asked as his eyes glowed red.

The mouth on Deidara's spat out more clay and Deidara molded it.

"I'll save Gaara!" Naruto yelled as he jumped up towards Deidara who smiled. The bird easily dodged and sent Naruto into a rock wall. Deidara then threw the insect clay at Naruto but Kakashi hit it with a kunai; Deidara exploded it.

"You shouldn't be worth fighting if that's all it took." Deidara said as Naruto hung off the wall with Kakashi.

"I won't let you have Gaara!" Naruto yelled.

**Chiyo, Sakura, and Sasori**

Sakura and Chiyo dodged all the senbon until they stopped.

"You saw through it. All right then. Die!" Sasori said as his left arm flew towards and spun throwing wooden poles that split into senbon and flew towards Chiyo and Sakura. They dodged them all. Sakura smiled as she saw that Chiyo was also unharmed.

'They dodged that attack, too? Forget Grandma chiyo, but the kid, too? Why?' Sasori thought. Sakura ran towards Sasori.

'Grandma Chiyo... has stopped moving. Now she's charing in head first. She's underestimating me.' Sasori thought as his tail deflected the kunai Sakura threw and sent the scorpion tail towards her; it stopped inches from her face.

'It won't move! Now I see! Grandma!' Sasori thought.

"Now, Sakura!" Chiyo yelled.

"Crush it!" Sakura yelled as she punched.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

"I'll take Gaara back!" Naruto yelled.

"You're weird, for a Jinchuriki. I've heard that Jinchuriki are gloomy and hate people. My comrades have been defeated two other Jinchuriki, not counting him. It seems neither their friends nor their villages tried to save them. In fact, it seemed like there were people who were happy to have them gone. A kindred spirit who was hated and despised... you couldn't just ignore him. Gaara... Gaara died when we removed the One-Tailed Shukaku. That's going to happen to you, soon. You hear me?" Deidara laughed; Naruto's eyes flashed redder and his hands let off steam.

"I won't let you jerks get away with this!" Naruto yelled.

**Sakura, Chiyo, and Sasori**

Sasori broke the puppet Hiruko into pieces; a part of the clothing jumped away and landed on the ground with a part of Hiruko's clothes over him.

"So you finally came out." Chiyo said as he stood up.

"That's his real body?" Sakura asked.

"I've come all this way to see my little grandson's face. It's been about twenty years since I've seen you." Chiyo explained; Sasori moved his hand and Hiruko's head moved up.

'It can still move?' Sakura thought; the head flew up into the air and sent senbon from the bottom; the head broke into pieces as it hit the ground.

"As I thought. Just what I'd expect from my Grandma. No wonder that girl dodged my attacks so easily. She had you, who could see right through them, controlling her with chakra strings." Sasori said.

'He knows.' Sakura thought.

"And on top of that, you secretly out some of Hiruko's tail. But for me to not have noticed until I was able to move the tail, you must have done it when you first attacked with those kunai. You transferred the chakra strings connected to the kunai onto the tail as I blocked " Sasori added.

"Impressive, considering that I suppressed the chakra flow to the point of making the threads invisible." Chiyo granted.

"It wasn't hard. After all, you're the one who taught me how to play with puppets." Sasori said as he turned around and started to pull back his hood.

"But today, the games comes to an end!" Chiyo yelled.

"That's the plan." Sasori said as he pulled the hood away and threw it on the ground. Chiyo gasped and her eyes widened.

"But honestly, do you think it'll be that simple, Grandma Chiyo?" Sasori asked.

"Elder Chiyo?" Sakura asked when Chiyo kept staring at Sasori.

"He's... he's Sasori?" Sakura asked.

'What's the meaning of this? He looks the same...he hasn't aged a day.' Chiyo thought, looking at a teenage boy with wide brown eyes, and short red hair.

'What's going on? I thought Sasori left the Sand Village over twenty years ago. How can he be so young?' Sakura thought.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto **

"Darn it..." Naruto said as they watched Deidara.

'Judging by the noise just now, they've definitely begun fighting. I wish I knew what's going on, but...' Kakashi thought looking at Deidara.

"Give Gaara back, you jerk!" Naruto yelled.

"It's only a matter of time before Master Sasori defeats the two inside." Deidara said.

'If he comes out here, then using this guy to lure the Jinchuriki away will have been a waste.' Deidara thought as he started flying away.

"You jerk! You're dead! Get back here!" Naruto shouted as he ran after him.

"Naruto..." Kakashi started.

"Kakashi, you take care of Sakura!" Naruto replied.

'Seriously,' Kakashi thought as he followed Naruto.

"Guy, what's happening on your end?" Kakashi asked through his radio.

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Please R&R


	2. Chapter 2

Please R&R

* * *

**Team Guy**

Might Guy's attacks were thrown right back at him from his clone; he was quickly tiring out but his clone was not.

"Sorry, Kakashi! This is gonna take some time!" Might Guy replied.

Neji ran towards his clone but it blocked all of his attacks.

"Spinning Heavens!" Neji yelled as he blocked all the kunai.

"They couldn't have picked a better way to slow us down." Neji said.

Tenten and her clone pulled out their weapon scrolls.

"If the opponent has the exact same abilities as us..." Tenten said as she pulled out her weapon scrolls.

Lee ran beside his clone in the forest, "Then they won't be easy to defeat!" Lee added as he aimed a kick but the clone avoided it, "Impressive."

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

'Darn! We won't get any backup for a while. Sakura, Elder Chiyo, hang on a bit longer!' Kakashi thought.

"You're not getting away!" Naruto yelled as he chased Deidara.

"He's coming. Be sure to keep up. Then I'll finish you off." Deidara stated as he got some more clay.

**Chiyo, Sasori, and Sakura**

"What's wrong, Grandma Chiyo? Are you so choked up that you can't even speak? That's okay. It's our first reunion in twenty years." Sasori Might Guy Might Guy mmstated.

"Sasori, you..." Chiyo started.

"Want to see what else I've got up my sleeve?" Sasori asked as he pulled out a scroll, "This might be even more shocking. He was one of the hardest to kill and add to my collection."

Sasori opened the scroll that had a three on it with other lines.

"Three?" Sakura asked.

"But that's what makes him my favorite." Sasori said as a cloud of smoke surrounded him.

"Th-That's... it can't be!" Chiyo said as the smoke cleared revealing a puppet.

"What? What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"That's the Third Kazekage!" Chiyo answered looking at the puppet.

"The Third Kazekage?" Sakura repeated as Sasori laughed.

"Well? Does this take you back, Grandma Chiyo?" Sasori asked.

"Elder Chiyo, how can the Third Kazekage...?" Sakura asked.

"How terrible..." Chiyo simply said.

"Then..." Sakura started.

"It happened over twenty years ago. The Third Kazekage suddenly vanished. We did everything we could, but were never able to find him. He was the most powerful Kazekage in history, but... Sasori, you did it?" Chiyo asked.

"So what? You're telling me a retired old hag about to keel over is going to avenge him? How admirable." Sasori stated.

"Even if I'm retired and about to die, I just have to remember the past. I have too many regrets to die just yet. Especially when I see that my grandson has become a villain! You betray the village and have attacked three Kazekage!" Chiyo replied.

"Three?" Sakura asked.

"Orochimaru may have been the one who killed gas father, the Fourth Kazekage. But I know your companions were the ones behind it! And now Gaara... and even the Third!" Chiyo accused.

"Easy. I don't know anything about the Fourth. I only have control over my own subordinates." Sasori assured.

"Given that he did the exact same thing as you, though... how can you say that it's unrelated?" Chiyo asked.

"It is true that Orochimaru was my original Akatsuki partner, and we accomplished a lot together." Sasori agreed.

"You... if you worked with Orochimaru, you must know all about him. I have a lot of questions for you!" Sakura told him.

"Sakura..." Chiyo started.

"Sorry, kid. I have to finish you two of and catch that Jinchuriki. I hate to keep people waiting. I don't have time to answer questions. Now, let's do this." Sasori said as the Third Kazekage puppet moved towards them.

"He's coming." Sakura said as she readied herself. The puppet flew towards Sakura but Chiyo brought her back with the chakra strings.

"Die!" Sasori yelled as The Third's puppet's right arm held several poisoned blades, came towards Sakura.

'He's fast!" Chiyo yelled as she used Hiruko's tail to stop the blades but The Third cut them.

"It even destroyed Hiruko's tail?" Chiyo asked.

"Nice one, Grandma Chiyo. But how about this?" Sasori asked as the left arm opened up to reveal several summoning seals that summoned thousands of similar arms to attack Sakura.

"Oh no!" Chiyo yelled as she tried to pull Sakura away but the arms crushed down where Sakura was.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled.

'She didn't die.' Sasori thought as he saw that Sakura was on the ground avoiding several arms but none had pierced her.

'Safe!' Sakura thought.

'I won't be able to catch her while Grandma's in control. So then...' Sasori thought as Sakura stood up. Chiyo pulled Sakura back as an arm emitted a poisonous gas cloud.

"Not good! Sakura, hold your breath!" Chiyo yelled.

"Poison?" Sakura asked as the cloud of gas covered where she was.

'It doesn't matter where you go when you're trapped in a cloud of poison gas.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

The mouth on Deidara's hand spat out some clay.

'Almost time.' Deidara thought.

"Wait, darn you!" Naruto yelled.

'I'm really lucky, getting to take out two Jinchuriki by myself.' Sasori thought as he created three small clay insects and threw them at Naruto and exploded where he was.

"Darn it!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled as he hit a bird with a kunai.

"You're not getting away!" Naruto yelled; he watched a bird fly towards Kakashi, "Kakashi!"

"I should've know one bomb wouldn't be enough to finish the copy ninja." Deidara said as he saw Kakashi come out of the smoke unharmed.

"And now I only have a little explosive clay left. I wanted to lure the Jinchuriki out, but this is becoming a problem." Deidara said as he pulled some out of his bag.

"You... get back here!" Naruto yelled.

"Wait, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled. But he didn't listen; Kakashi followed but looked back.

'We've gone too far from Sakura and the others.' And if we keep going, we won't be able to radio Guy's team. I have to hurry!' Kakashi thought.

**Team Guy**

Might Guy looked at his clone.

"I'm not finished yet!" Might Guy yelled as he ran towards the clone with a first in the air. The clone dodged every one and Might Guy dodged all of his but he managed to hit him one time in the face and the clone kicked Might Guy in the face.

"Darn it! This will never end!" Might Guy said.

Neji looked at his clone breathing heavily. He ran towards him only to have every punch avoided.

"Darn it... what should I do?" Neji asked.

Tenten threw an exploding tag at her clone but the clone dodged.

"Fighting against myself... what should I do?" Tenten asked.

Lee ran through the forest with his clone at his tail. He threw punches only to have all of them blocked.

"I'm really getting tired." Lee pointed out.

**Sasori, Sakura, and Chiyo**

'The girl will die in that poison gas.' Sasori thought.

Sakura held her breath, 'I'm okay. I managed to hold my breath without inhaling any of it.'

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled as she started to pull the girl back.

"I don't think so!" Sasori replied as the arms released wires that kept Sakura in the gas cloud. Chiyo tried but she couldn't pull Sakura out. The wires held onto Sakura as well as Chiyo's chakra wire.

"Wh-What is...?" Chiyo asked.

"Kunia tied to ropes. You're supposed to deflect then, not try to dodge!" Sasori pointed out.

'I can't breathe yet!' Sakura thought.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled as Sasori started pulling Sakura towards him.

"You're bent on not letting her out, aren't you?" Chiyo asked.

"It's pointless, Grandma Chiyo. She'll die from inhaling the slightest bit of poison." Sasori explained.

'Sakura..." Chiyo thought.

"She's done for." Sasori stated.

'Naruto... I promised Naruto! That I wouldn't get in the way this time! I swore... that this time, I would protect them. I can't die yet...' Sakura thought as she grabbed something out of her bag.

'The poison gas has almost dispersed. Hold out a little longer, Sakura!' Chiyo thought as she saw the gas thinning.

"That's not the only poison fog!" Sasori pointed out as another arm emitted a poisonous gas cloud.

"Sakura, hold on!" Chiyo yelled as she ran towards the cloud.

'I refuse to die here!' Sakura thought as she pulled out an exploding tag and suddenly an explosion occurred inside the gas cloud dispersing it.

"What?" Sasori asked.

Sakura flew back towards Chiyo who caught her.

"Sakura! Sakura, hang in there! Sakura!" Chiyo yelled as she held her.

"Oh. Not bad." Sasori said.

"Oh no, she's not breathing!" Chiyo said before she hit Sakura hard on the back. Sakura coughed.

"Are you all right, Sakura?" Chiyo asked her.

"Yes." Sakura replied.

'This girl... She blew away the poison for with an explosive note? All that just to escape a trap... what recklessness!' Chiyo thought.

"You... I'm gonna capture you! Even if you blow away my limbs... and paralyze me with poison, I will definitely get you! No matter what you come at me with, no matter what tricks you have up your sleeve, I'll make you tell me about Orochimaru! Got it?" Sakura said as she looked at Sasori and stood up. Sasori moved his hand; the Third threw kunai from his hand towards Sakura.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

Deidara watched as Kakashi and Naruto followed.

"If I'm gonna take on the Jinchuriki, the copy ninja will definitely get in the way. I have to find a way to separate them." Deidara said as he formed two clay spiders in his hand and threw them towards Kakashi and Naruto. They exploded in front of Kakashi.

"Kakashi!" Naruto yelled but Kakashi still came out of the smoke unharmed, "Nice!"

"He's trying to separate me from Naruto. I see. He wants to fight Naruto one-on-one.' Kakashi thought as Deidara frowned.

"That plan failed. Guess I have to target both of them at once." Deidara said as he put his hand into his bag, "But I don't have enough explosive clay for that. I'll need the extra batch I left back in the cave. Plus, I do have an ace in the hole, if it comes to that."

**Sasori, Sakura and Chiyo**

Sakura opened her eyes to see that two puppets had protected her and Chiyo. "Mother" and "Father" were the first two puppets Sasori ever created. They were made to resemble his real mother and father, after they were killed while away at war by Sakumo Hatake. He made them in the hopes that doing so would help him feel loved. Because they were still only puppets, this failed, and Sasori lost interest in the two and left them behind when he left Sunagakure. With his departure, the puppets came into the possession of Chiyo.

"A man should listen quietly when a woman speaks to him." Chiyo said.

"Oh, those?" Sasori asked looking at them.

"So you do remember them?" Chiyo asked.

"Yeah, more or less." Sasori answered.

"The very first puppets you created. "Father... "Mother"." Chiyo explained.

"Father and Mother? So, these are Sasori's...?" Sakura asked.

"And what do you plan on doing with those? I made those puppets. I know all their secrets. How stupid." Sasori pointed out.

"I wonder about that." Chiyo said as the puppets touched each other with one of their hands then revealed wire connecting their fingers.

'Wires?' Sakura thought.

"Sakura, stand back!" Chiyo ordered.

"Yes." Sakura said as she moved back and the puppets flew forward. Sasori lifted the many arms of the Third and threw them at Mother and Father. The wires cut the arms into pieces so Sasori cut off the connection to the Third and brought him back. A small buzz-saw replaced the arms. Father threw out an arm that was covered in kunai and Mother brought out a sword. The Third threw the saw at Mother who stopped it with her sword and Father threw his arm of kunai at the Third who cut it. Sasori and Chiyo fought both trying to hit the other.

"U-Unreal..." Sakura thought as she saw how fast they were fighting. Sasori and Chiyo brought their puppets back towards them. The Third's blades and saw were broken as well as Father's kunai and Mother's sword.

"This is getting annoying. Guess I need to bring this out." Sasori said as the Third's mouth opened and sand flew out.

"So that puppet can really use the Third's techniques." Chiyo said.

"It's been a while since you've seen it, right? This is the reason why the Third Kazekage was known as the strongest in the village. The two of you are about to get messed up." Sasori explained.

"What is that?" Sakura asked.

"The most feared weapon in the history of the Hidden Sand. Iron sand!" Chiyo explained.

"Iron sand?" Sakura asked.

"At one time, it was a technique that Shukaku's host used. It's a technique that the Third invented himself. He could mold the Iron Sand into various forms, changing it into weapons appropriate to the situation. The Third Kazekage had a unique body that allowed him to change his chakra into a magnetic field. It looks like the puppet can perform the same technique." Chiyo explained.

"How can that be? Even though he's using the Third Kazekage's body, it's still just a puppet. How can a doll have chakra?" Sakura asked.

"No. Human Puppets made from real flesh are different from the normal puppets like his father and mother. And Sasori is the only one able to make Human Puppets. They're made to retain the chakra they had when they were still alive. And going by that, he is able to make us of any techniques they had when they were still alive. That's a Human Puppet's greatest advantage." Chiyo explained.

"That's not all. After all, they are part of my beloved collection." Sasori interjected.

"Sakura, you need to get out of here. I'll fight him by myself. This was unexpected. You don't stand a chance against something like that." Chiyo told Sakura.

"But-!" Sakura started.

"You're too slow! Iron Sand Rain!" Sasori yelled as sand darts flew towards Chiyo and Sakura.

"Oh, no!" Chiyo yelled as mother grabbed Sakura. Sasori looked to see that father was wrapped in front of Chiyo and had a chakra shield around him.

"I see you've been messing with them. The chakra shield... seems that he's been upgraded since he last played with me." Sasori replied as the shield went away; Chiyo tried to move the puppet but it wouldn't. Chiyo looked to see that there was sand in its joints.

'The Iron Sand is preventing it from moving!' Chiyo thought.

"You know you have to dodge that technique, not block it. Was letting the girl escape all you could manage? I've pumped his body full of Iron Sand. As long as I have the Third's magnetic powers, he's useless. This time, I'm going to attack both of you at once. In order to make sure I finished you off, I'm going to put it in vorpal mode." Sasori said as the sand created pointed stalactites on the ceiling above Sasori and Chiyo, "You won't escape again. One puppet can't protect two people. What are you gonna do, Grandma? Who will die?"

The blades flew towards Sakura and Chiyo and an explosion occurred where they both were. Sasori looked to see that Sakura was unharmed. Sakura looked and saw that Chiyo was also unharmed. Her arm had protected her; it was a puppet.

"So you turned your own body into a puppet, even if it was just an arm. Great puppet masters think alike, I suppose." Sasori said then laughed as Chiyo couldn't move her arm.

_Flashback_

'_What's the meaning of this? He looks the same...he hasn't aged a day.' Chiyo thought. looking at the teenage boy with wide brown eyes, and short red hair._

_End flashback_

"I see. So that's it." Chiyo said looking at her arm. Sakura looked and saw her puppet couldn't move.

"Once Iron Sand gets inside, it's over. You're out of puppets. What are you going to do, Granny Chiyo? Even if you're an elite puppet master, without puppets, you're just a regular person." Sasori said as Chiyo looked at mother then father. Chiyo removed her puppet arm and the Third released more Iron Sand into a giant pyramid and cube.

"There's me and someone else... what should I do in this situation? Sakura, you have to run for it. Sakura, what's wrong? Hurry up! I already told you! I've told you already. You can't fight that. Run while I stall him." Chiyo ordered.

'Run? Abandon Elder Chiyo and escape alone... No. There must be something. There has to be something that I can do, even now.' Sakura thought as she looked at mother and father, "what I can do now is...'

"Elder Chiyo. Please use me!" Sakura told her.

'The least I can do now is become Elder Chiyo's puppet and fight.' Sakura thought.

"If you use a puppet made of flesh, his Iron sand won't have any effect.' Sakura pointed out.

"I only have one arm now. I can't support you like I did before." Chiyo replied.

"It's okay. Maybe I don't have any secret weapons built into like a puppet, but I have my master's hatred of losing!" Chiyo pointed out.

'Princess Tsunade, huh?' Chiyo thought as she grabbed onto Sakura with her chakra wire, "the Third's abilities lie in magnetism. Metallic weapons won't work!"

"Sounds good! I also have my master's hand-to-hand fighting skills!" Sakura agreed.

"That again? How lame." Sasori said as the iron flew towards Sakura but Chiyo pulled her back; Chiyo pulled her back again when the square tried to crush her.

"Eat this!" Sakura yelled as she ran towards the square and hit it with her fist, sending it at Sasori.

"Witch." Sasori said as he landed on the wall.

"I'm not done yet!" Sakura yelled and Sasori grabbed the objects and brought them in front of him. The triangle started spinning and flew towards Sakura who dodged it and the square. She then hit the triangle away with her strength but the square rose up.

"Over there!" Sakura yelled as she knocked the square into the ceiling, making the ceiling fall where Sasori and the Third were. Sasori lifted up his hands and the square and triangle flew towards her on opposite sides.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled.

"Yeah!" Sakura yelled as she hit the triangle away into the wall.

**Kakashi, Deidara, and Naruto**

"That explosion...what happened? Sounds like it's coming from where Sakura and Elder Chiyo are. I can't go back and confirm it, and now our radios are out of range. I really have to hurry here." Kakashi asked.

'Darn it! Just chasing him is getting us nowhere!' Naruto thought.

"Kakashi, move it! If we take too long, we'll lose track of him!" Naruto yelled.

"Not a problem. Remember, you're his target, Naruto. He won't try to escape or shake us off." Kakashi answered.

"Then hurry up and think of a way for us to take him down already!" Naruto yelled back.

"Don't worry! I already have a few strategies in mind. But I need some time to prepare before I can use them." Kakashi answered.

"I can't wait any longer! I wanna save Gaara now!" Naruto yelled again.

"I don't know what they're plotting, but lucky for me. The Jinchuriki's quite simple-minded. I'll keep him riled up so they won't have time to work out a plan. I wonder if they can match my speed.

"Darn it... get back here!" Naruto said as Deidara speeded up and so did he.

"Wait, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled but Naruto didn't listen.

'I can't get to Naruto if he's like this. There's no coice. I'll have to use _that _to finish this up.' Kakashi thought.

**Team Guy**

Might Guy and his clone aimed kicks but they blocked each other; they matched each other punch for punch. Might Guy was tiring out but his clone wasn't. He then heard rocks crumbling.

"Did you guys hear that sound?" Might Guy asked over his radio.

Neji used Spinning Heavens against his clone who did the same blocking each other. Neji was tiring out but his clone wasn't.

"Yeah, loud and clear." Neji answered on his radio.

Tenten threw kunai at her clone who did the same; all the kunai blocked each other out. Tenten was tiring out but her clone wasn't.

"It sounds like it's coming from the enemy's hideout." Tenten added through her radio.

Lee was also was tiring out but his clone wasn't.

"That noise... what's going on?" Lee asked through his radio.

"Can you see it, Neji?" Might Guy asked as he fought his clone.

"I'll try, but I'm in the middle of a fight. It'll be hard to pinpoint anything." Neji answered as he jumped into the air looking towards the enemy's hideout.

"The enemy's hideout has been seriously damaged." Neji answered.

"Damaged?" Tenten asked as she fought her clone.

"What's happening?" Lee asked as he fought his clone.

"Did Sakura and the others win or were they done in?" Might Guy asked.

"I can't say either way. Because for now..." Neji answered.

Sakura hit the rectangle again throwing it into the ceiling and showing the sky above when the rocks fell. Chiyo moved Sakura as the rocks fell.

'...it's an even battle!' Neji finished as Sasori moved the rectangle and rectangle towards her again.

"They're even?" Tenten asked with a smile as she fought her clone.

"That's my Sakura! I mustn't lose, either!" Lee yelled as he fought his clone.

**Sakura, Sasori, and Chiyo**

"That's a lot of power for a little girl." Sasori pointed out.

'She's begun to read Sasori's attack patterns in just a short amount of time. And she's doing fairly well without my assistance. I had no idea she'd be this skilled. This girl is impressive. That Tsunade found herself a good pupil.' Chiyo thought as Sasori threw the triangle again that Sakura dodged.

_Flashback_

"_Listen up, Sakura. To a medical ninja, attack power is only the second most important thing to have. Do you know why?" Tsunade asked._

"_Yes. Medical ninja are supposed to support the team. Rather than attack, they should support their comrades in battle, so I believe their ability to heal comes first." Sakura answered with a smile._

"_Wrong!" Tsunade yelled, "The ability to dodge the enemy's attacks is the most important thing._

"_The ability to dodge?" Sakura asked._

"_Medical ninja must never get hit by the enemy!" Tsunade replied._

"_Why is that?" Sakura asked and Tsunade sighed._

"_Who's gonna heal the rest of the team if the medical ninja dies? Now I'm going to attack you, for real. You'll practice avoiding all of my attacks. I won't hold back!" Tsunade answered._

_End flashback_

Sasori moved his finger and threw the triangle at and rectangle at her as she ran towards him; she knocked the rectangle into the triangle knocking them away.

_Flashback_

"_Now I am going to attack you for real. You'll practice avoiding all of my attacks. I won't hold back! Are you ready?" Tsunade said._

"_Yes!" Sakura answered and Tsunade jumped into the air and tried to land a kick at Sakura who dodged and closed her eyes as she flew back._

"_Don't close your eyes!" Tsunade yelled as she punched Sakura back further, sending her into a tree. Sakura fell on the ground along with half of the tree._

"_Why would you close your eyes when the enemy's right in front of you? Watch the enemy's movements closely. Watch them before the attack, during the attack and after the attack! Don't let a single movement escape your eyes! If you're any kind of shinobi, you've heard about this. People always have a dominant arm and leg, as well as individual ticks and habits. Which, when combined, reveal patterns in their movement. When someone becomes a jounin or a chuunin, they train in order to lessen those habits, so the enemy can't read their movements, but... they can't be eliminated completely. At times you should be able to use them and see the enemy's weak spots." Tsunade asked as Sakura stood up._

"_The enemy's weak spots?" Sakura asked._

"_Find them as quickly as possible! It'll improve your ability to dodge their attacks." Tsunade told her._

_End flashback_

'His fingers always move before he attacks. He's manipulating the puppet by the chakra strings attached to his fingers, so that makes sense. That's a puppet master's weakness!' Sakura thought and Sasori huffed.

'And I'm starting to see where Sasori's attacks will go based on how he moves his hands and arms.' Sakura thought.

'She's watching too closely. At this rate, it's going to take too long. I'm going to have to stop using such little chakra. I'll finish her off with that!' Sasori thought as he connected the triangle and rectangle then threw chakra from the Third's chest.

"Iron Sand World Law." Sasori yelled as iron sand came out of the air like trees.

"It's huge." Sakura said as she watched it.

"Not good!" Chiyo said as she pulled Sakura back from getting hit but another came her way. An explosion occurred where the iron sand was. Chiyo was pinned down with a rock; Sasori smiled but frowned when some of the rocks moved. Sakura stood.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled when she noticed the girl had a cut and tried to get up, "Sakura, are you okay?"

Blood dripping on the ground from Sakura's cut on her arm.

* * *

Please R&R


	3. Chapter 3

Please R&R

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Listen closely, Sakura. First we'll get close to him and break his puppet with your strength. But, you must dodge all of his attacks. Every last one. You can't let them even scratch you." Chiyo replied._

"_Because they're poisoned." Sakura figured out._

"_That's right. A mere scratch will become fatal." Chiyo said._

_End flashback_

"Poison!" Chiyo said as Sasori smiled.

"I told you I had plenty of moves left." Sasori repeated.

"So you poisoned the Iron Sand, too?" Chiyo asked as Sakura fell to the ground and Sasori laughed.

"The poison's working. Soon her body will go numb and she won't be able to move. She'd last three days if I let her be, but I don't plan to! It's over, girl!" Sasori said as the Third flew towards Sakura with a blade.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled but just as the puppet reached Sakura she stood up and punched the puppet, shattering it to pieces. The sand started losing its shape and fell to the ground as Sakura jumped into the air.

"Elder Chiyo!" Sakura said as she landed near the old woman.

'What's going on?' Sasori thought as he watched the girl throw the big rock that was over Chiyo away; Chiyo sat up, 'That girl shouldn't be able to move anymore. Is grandma controlling her?'

'No. no, she's to hurt to have the girl make such complex movements. That girl is moving on her own. Why can she still move? I'm sure that attack poisoned her.' Sasori thought.

"Sakura, how...?" Chiyo asked her.

"I used an antidote." Sakura replied as she looked at a syringe nearby.

"When did you make something like that?" Chiyo asked.

"In the Sand Village, when I was working on an antidote for Kankuro." Sakura replied holding another one in her hands.

_Flashback_

"_I never thought that the Sand Village would have so many medicinal herbs." Sakura said._

"_We do, but growing them inside a greenhouse is rather difficult. Especially Tomoshiri grass, we have very little of that..." An herbalist replied._

"_Not at all! This is plenty. Enough for three full doses of anti-venom." Sakura replied._

"_I made three of them._ _You should be all right now. Just take it easy and sleep until the trembling stops._

_End flashback_

"I made three of them. I used one to heal Kankuro. I knew that our enemy used poison, so I pout the other two into syringes and brought them with me." Sakura replied.

"I see. So that's how." Chiyo figured out.

"I used one of them now. However, it will only work for around three minutes. During which time, no matter how much poison getes in my system, it'll all be broken dodwn into harmless proteins." Sakura explained looking at the other cuts on her body.

"I see." Chiyo replied.

"I couldn't let Sasori find out about my anti-venom. I knew I had a chance when he would let his guard down as he used his final attack. That's why I didn't use it until the very end. I have just one left. You should hang onto it, Elder Chiyo." Sakura said handing it to the old woman.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked as the old lady groaned in pain.

'It couldn't be. She nullified the poison?' Sasori thought.

_Flashback_

"_I won't finish you off, since you seem to want to live so badly. But that poison will kill you within three days." Sasori said to Kankuro._

_End flashback_

'She came up with an antidote by analyzing the poison I used back then? No, that's impossible. Even if by some miracle she was able to analyze it, making an antidote would've been extremely difficult. It's an extremely complex poison, and there's absolutely no room for mistakes when making an antidote. Even though it's my own creation, I needed ample preparation to make it.' Sasori thought.

"I'll heal you." Sakura said as she healed the old woman's arm while Chiyo looked at the syringe, "For the next three minutes, his poison won't affect me. The fight has to be won in here minutes!"

'Grandma? No. I know the limits of the Sand Village's medical ninja. Even Grandma Chiyo couldn't create an anti-venom for this particular poison. This kid's a medical ninja? She's definitely from the Leaf. And everyone knows Leaf's current Hokage, Tsunade, is one of the world's greatest medical ninja. Don't tell me it was her!' Sasori thought as he watched Sakura heal Chiyo.

"Sakura, my left hand is okay now." Chiyo told her.

"Right!" Sakura said as she stopped and breathed heavily.

'Super strength, evasive ability and healing injuries. Each one take s a considerable amount of chakra. She's already reached her limit.' Chiyo thought as she looked at her hand and Sakura stood up; she started healing a wound on her arm.

**Kakashi, Naruto, and Deidara **

"My, my, at this rate, I won't be able to look Master Sasori in the face. I have to use my remaining explosive clay to prove to him that I'm a true artist. And the copy ninja is in the way.

"It took a while, but let's see you deal with this!" Deidara yelled as he threw about one hundred small grasshoppers in front of Kakashi. Kakashi jumped past it but it jumped in front of him and exploded. Kakashi jumped out of the way but two more came to him and exploded; he managed to dodge the explosions.

"What? These are a lot smaller than the birds he used earlier. Is it so that I can't hit htem with shuriken? And there are so many. Going by its bug-like legs, it's a jumping-type. All right, let's see who's faster." Kakashi said as he jumped past them as they exploded. Three more jumped towards him and exploded but he dodged.

"Naruto, hold on." Kakashi ordered.

"You're too slow, Kakashi! I'm going ahead!" Naruto yelled.

"Don't try to do too much on your own!" Kakashi replied.

"Yeah, I know!" Naruto yelled back.

'This is kind of bad.' Kakashi thought.

**Sakura, Sasori, and Chiyo**

'I've taken care of the larger wounds, at least. I'll have to put the rest of my chakra into attacking. I have to finish this in three minutes! There won't be a second chance!' Sakura thought as she picked up her glove. Chiyo picked up the syringe.

'The anti-venom works for three minutes.' Chiyo thought.

"I don't have time. Are you ready, Elder Chiyo?" Sakura asked.

"I am. Let's finish this!" Chiyo replied as she stood up and threw the syringe into her sleeve.

**Kakashi**

"All right... I don't have time to stand around staring at these things. With Naruto on his own, he could lose control at any time." Kakashi said before he jumped back; the bugs followed, "So they'll chase me even if I try to retreat. In which case..."

Kakashi started running back and the insects followed.

"...They'll be sure to follow me." Kakashi finished as some of the grasshoppers exploded behind him. He jumped on a log then flew backwards towards Naruto. The insects and followed.

"Well done." Kakashi said but the insects jumped onto him and exploded.

**Deidara and Naruto**

"One down." Deidara said with a smile.

"What? Kakashi..." Naruto said looking back but looking in front of Deidara landed the bird on a log.

"It's finally just the two of us. Don't make such a scary face. I'm letting you see your friend again." Deidara said as the bird opened its mouth to reveal Gaara.

"Oh, yeah. You just can't stay calm, can you? Not as a fellow Jinchriki." Deidara stated.

"Give Gaara back!" Naruto yelled as he jumped towards Deidara but someone stopped him.

"Kakashi!" Naruto said as he looked back.

"What? I thought I'd finally killed you." Deidara stated.

"Well, I apologize for not letting you blow me to bits. Next time, you need to think of a way for them to differentiate between the real one and a shadow clone. Assuming there is a next time." Kakashi apologized; the bird closed its mouth and flew away. Naruto started to follow but Kakashi stopped.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled.

"I'd say the same to you. It's okay. We'll definitely get Gaara back. So calm down!" Kakashi ordered.

"Master Sasori is gonna be angry with me for not being properly prepared again. But then again, over-analyzing and preparing for every little possibility isn't my style. One has to think on the spot and adapt to the situation. That's what makes artists so well suited for fighting. What to do?" Deidara said as he lifted his hand from his bag and to his chin.

"Listen up, Naruto. You aren't used to fighting against his type. And in addition, as someone who specializes in close combat, his long-range style is the worst possible match for you. There are only two ways to fight against someone like him. The first is to draw the enemy into close combat and defeat him there. The other is to use attacks with an even greater range than his and defeat him from a distance." Kakashi explained.

"But how?" Naruto asked.

"Either way, you must have a companion, who either specializes in long-range attacks, or has support techniques meant for long-range fights. If you don't have either, the battle is lost. Well, that may not be the case for someone as smart as, say, Shikamaru." Kakashi added.

"Stop beating around the bush! What about you, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Ah yes, me. I'm a jounin who's about as smart as Shikamaru, and has support ninjutsu that can be used in long-range fights." Kakashi stated.

"Then, we've got what we need-" Naruto started.

"That's why I told you to calm down." Kakashi repeated.

"Then let's go!" Naruto yelled.

"It's not that easy. He isn't going to show us any openings if we just chase him. This is the person who snuck into the Sand Village and defeated Gaara by himself. And above all else, he's a member of the Akatsuki." Kakashi explained.

"Actuallly, I don't have the time to sit back and think." Deidara said to himself.

"So, what can we do? The only option is for us to work together and force him to leave himself open." Kakashi said as Deidara started flying away.

"If you get everything I've said, then listen to me. I'll tell you the plan.

**Sakura, Sasori and Chiyo **

"Let's go, Sakura!" Chiyo said.

"Right!" Sakura agreed.

'I'll acknowledge you. You're an impressive child. To have actually destroyed the Third Kazekage is quite a feat. Using other Human Puppets would be a waste of time. ' Sasori thought as he undid his Akatsuki cloak.

"I haven't used this one since I joined Akatsuki. I wonder how long it's been..." Sasori said as his cloak fell off, reavealing that he himself was a puppet.

"Th-That..." Sakura started as five blades that could spin like a propeller came from his hips.

"He hasn't aged a day since he left. He looks exactly like he did back then." Chiyo said as a thick cable coiled around a pole in place of his stomach was uncoiling, allowing Sasori to use it as a stinger and retract it if necessary. It lifted him up into the air from the ground, "And now we know why."

Sasori's left part of his chest held the only part of him still human, and the only part of his body capable of controlling chakra: a cylinder-shaped device containing his heart that said scorpion. Attached to his back was a scroll holder, containing four scrolls that seemed to serve as "ammunition", which Sasori used to store his human puppets. Sasori's eyes were wide open, giving him a somewhat maniacal look. Pipes were in his hands that could spew out intense fire, hot enough to even melt rock, or, powerful water jets with such pressure that they were capable of cutting through rock.

"It's really been a while... since I used _myself_." Sasori told them.

"He turned himself into a Human Puppet?" Sakura asked.

**Naruto, Kakashi, and Deidara**

"Got it?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I got it. Let's go." Naruto replied.

"What?" Deidara said as he saw Kakashi starting a jutsu.

Poison dripping off the cable in his stomach and the blades on his hips fell onto the ground.

"If he turned his entire body into a puppet, then every weapon on him must be drenched in poison." Sakura said.

"What's wrong?" Sasori asked.

'It's been over a minute since I used the anti-venom.' Sakura thought.

"Weren't you going to finish this? If you aren't going to attack..." Sasori said as he lifted his arms.

'It's only going to last for two more minutes. I need to draw him inot close combat and finish him off, but...' Sakura thought.

"I'll make the first move!" Sasori yelled as pipes in each of his hands spewed out intense fire, hot enough to even melt rock. Sakura and Chiyo jumped out of the way and behind some rocks.

"Hiding is meaningless! Now, what will you do?" Sasori said before hitting the rocks in front of Sakura and Chiyo. Sakura waited until the fire stopped and grabbed a kunai. She threw the kunai at Sasori and jumped behind another rock as the fire started again. The kunai melted before it hit Sasori.

'I can't even get close to him like this!' Sakura thought.

'What intense flames!' Chiyo thought as she jumped behind another rock. Chiyo and Sakura jumped behind the same rock.

"We've got one and a half minute left." Sakura pointed out as they both jumped towards Sakura..

"Die, you old hag!" Sasori yelled as he hit Chiyo; Sakura stopped and looked to see that it was just a rock that fell to the ground. Sasori looked around to see Chiyo.

"Take this!" Chiyo yelled as she threw the puppet head towards Sasori.

"Nice try!" Sasori yelled as he melted the puppet head.

"Just as I thought. You attached chakra threads to it during the previous fight. But the same trick won't work twice. Too bad for you." Sasori said as he threw fire towards the rocks in front of Chiyo and Sakura.

'Time is running out!' Sakura thought.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack me?" Sasori asked as he stopped firing and a scroll on his back summoned a puppet.

'The antidote will only last for one more minute." Sakura thought.

"In that case..." Sasori said as another scroll disappeared then blasted water towards Chiyo and Sasori.

"Water... Sakura, move it!" Chiyo yelled as she flew back. Sakura looked to see that the rock was cracking. Sakura jumped back as the rock crumbled. Sasori twisted his hand and the water came more forcefully. The rocks above Sakura started falling.

"Take that." Sasori said as he broke the ceiling above Sakura. Her and Chiyo dodged and went behind more rocks.

"How long do you plan on running around?" Sasori asked.

'Only twenty seconds left!' Sakura thought.

"All right, then..." Sasori said as the wire in his chest flew towards Sakura. Sakura gasped as the cord cut into her waist.

'Fifteen seconds!' Sakura thought. The cord cut the ground and jerked Sasori towards her.

"Are you all right, Sakura?" Chiyo yelled.

"Die!" Sasori yelled as the blades turned into propellors.

"Elder Chiyo!" Sakura yelled as she walked towards Chiyo.

'The antidote is still working. All I need to do is withstand the pain.' Sakura thought. Sasori flew towards Chiyo but couldn't; Sakura was pulling his cord back.

"Another wasted effort." Sasori thought as he continued.

'Five seconds left.' Sakura thought as she pulled faster, 'Four,' with one last pull Sasori stopped as the cord reached the end just as the propeller came towards Chiyo.

"Sakura." Chiyo said.

"Yeah!" Sakura yelled as she jerked Sasori back.

'Three seconds!' Sakura thought as she slung Sasori around in the air then towards herself. She punched Sasori in the stomach. His heart fell out as the puppet broke into pieces and fell to the ground.

'I got him right as the antidote's effects wore off.' Sasori thought as he looked at the puppet's head. Sakura smiled at Chiyo.

"We did it, Elder Chiyo. We really did it!" Sakura told her.

"Sakura, you..." Chiyo started as Sakura smiled.

**Naruto, Kakashi, and Deidara**

'The boy has calmed down. What's he planning now?' Deidara thought.

"Kakashi, aren't you ready yet?" Naruto asked him.

"I told you to calm down. I don't have as much chakra as you. This takes time." Kakashi told Naruto.

**Chiyo, Sasori, and Sakura**

Sakura started walking towards Chiyo when the heard beat once and Sakura heard the pieces of the puppet move. They both watched as the puppet came back together.

"You did what, exactly?" Sasori asked.

"That's right..." Chiyo said as she grabbed her puppet arm with chakra strings and attached it back and the iron sand fell out, "I'll get you this time."

"This is a technique that I forbade myself from using. I thought that I would never need it again, but I suppose life isn't that simple. Let's get this show on the road." Chiyo said as she brought a scroll out that had the Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu and unwrapped it. She then summoned the Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu.

"A puppet user's ability is measured by the number of puppets they can use. Impressive, grandma." Sasori complimented.

"Th-There's so many! Ten at once!" Sakura said awestruck.

"Grandma Chiyo's quintessential "Tenten Fingers". I've heard the rumors...that those are the puppets you used to conquer a castle. Secret White Attack, Chikamatsu's Collection of 10. The works of the first puppet master, Monzaemon. That's certainly an impressive collection of puppets. But..." Sasori explained as he pulled out a scroll and lifted a flap on his chest. Chakra flew out and grabbed onto the puppets that were summoned. Chiyo and Sakura stood in shock as one hundred puppets hovered in the air.

"I used these to conquer an entire _nation._" Sasori bragged.

'He's... come so far.' Chiyo thought as Sasori put his hand to his forehead.

"This is beyond annoying for me. Just how long am I going to fight with an old hag and a little girl? And to think, I even have to use my final puppets. I'll give you a special showing of my Secret Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets." Sasori said as all of his puppets brandished weapons. Sakura ran and stood in front of Chiyo and healed the wound on her waist.

"Sakura... your antidote isn't working anymore. Don't fight." Chiyo told Sakura but she smiled.

"By now, you should understand my personality." Sakura simply said.

"That's right. You inherited that from Tsunade, too. This will be the finale. Are you prepared?" Chiyo asked her.

"Yes!" Sakura answered.

"Here he comes!" Chiyo added before all of Sasori puppets flew towards them. In the battle, Chiyo destroys many of Sasori's puppets and vice versa, seeing as both collections seem to be about equal in power because, despite the fact that Sasori's overwhelm Chiyo's in numbers, the quality and teamwork of her puppets far surpass his. One puppet flew towards Sasori and caused the whole place to shake. Using a special chakra-sealing orb given to her by Chiyo, Sakura tries to seal Sasori's Chakra Pathway System.

"We got him." Sakura said.

"You can't get away now. That seal completely suppresses the target's chakra. You can no longer use your chakra strings. It's over, Sasori." Chiyo told Sasori as she fell to the ground.

"Elder Chiyo! Hurry and use the antidote!" Sakura yelled as she ran towards her but stopped when she saw Sasori behind her. The chakra-sealing orb had only caught his empty puppet body. Sasori, having ditched it moments before, had simply went to a spare body. Sasori lifted his sword and tried to stab Chiyo with a poisoned sword but Sakura took the blow in her place, giving Chiyo a chance to fight.

"Sakura!" Chiyo said.

"Elder Chiyo, are you all right? Can you still move?" Sakura asked her.

"Still worried about her, even with that wound?" Sasori asked.

"Sasori, how? It couldn't be..." Chiyo asked as she looked at the puppet and saw that the mechanism installed in the right part of his chest was not there.

'So that's it!' Chiyo thought.

"As a medical ninja, you should understand your situation." Sasori pointed out.

"Shut it!" Sakura said.

"You're a tough kid. But, how long do you think you can last?" Sasori asked as he pushed the sword deeper but Sakura started to heal it.

'She's stopping the bleeding and healing the wound while the sword's still stuck in her... she's very skilled.' Sasori thought.

"I'm okay, Elder Chiyo... you take the last of the antidote, quickly." Sakura told her.

"Sakura..." Chiyo started.

"Looks like the poison's finally working its magic. This katana is poisoned as well, obviously. The poison's making my body go numb. I can't control my chakra effectively...' Sakura thought as lifted the antidote. She opened it and instead hit Sakura in the leg with it.

'So that's the antidote?' Sasori thought.

"Why? Elder Chiyo..." Sakura asked as Chiyo fell to the ground.

'Everyone's choosing death in order to save someone else. How stupid.' Sasori thought as Sakura grabbed the sword so Sasori couldn't get it.

"I'm not letting go." Sakura told him.

'This girl... she's so powerful!' Sasori thought.

"Elder Chiyo!" Sakura said.

'There's no point in trying to overpower her, huh? All right, then...' Sasori thought as he drew his arm back without his hand holding onto the sword. His elbow also had a sword on it; he jumped back then ran towards Sakura.

"Die!" Sasori yelled but grandma Chiyo brought Mother and Father towards him. They stopped him and poison dripped on the ground. Chiyo used his parents' puppets to stab Sasori through the heart with in the form of a hug.

"Wh-What?' Sasori asked as he looked at the puppets then at his heart with two swords in it.

"You let your guard down at the very end, Sasori." Chiyo told him.

"What?" Sasori said as he saw that her Tenten puppets on the ground had formed a summoning block.

"Now you can't move. It makes sense. No matter how much of your body has become a puppet, you still use chakra, and therefore must have a living part somewhere. Your only weak point. And the only thing missing from that empty shell you left must have been that part. It must have been the moment before my technique took full effect. You transferred it to another puppet. Your puppet bodies are just that, puppets. Your true from is the part that houses your chakra, that living core in your chest!" Chiyo said as Sakura fell to the ground.

"Sakura!" Chiyo yelled as she came over to her and looked over her, "This is awful."

'At any rate, I must hurry to remove the sword and close the wound,' Chiyo thought then removed the sword.

"Bear with me. It's almost out." Chiyo told her.

"Don't bother. I stabbed her in a vital point. Even without poison, she'll be dead in no time. She's lost too much blood. You're a medical ninja, too. You should realize I aimed for a spot that's impossible to heal." Sasori told her as she healed Sakura.

"I've already finished with the first-aid techniques. The technique I'm using now isn't a simple healing technique." Chiyo explained.

"What?" Sasori asked.

"I'm giving her my life energy itself." Chiyo explained.

"You can't mean..." Sasori started.

"It's a reincarnation technique." Chiyo replied.

"Reincarnation technique?" Sasori asked.

"This was a technique I originally developed for you. To save your life if you ever needed it. Only I can use it. With this technique, one could even bring a puppet to life. At the cost of one's own life, of course. But, I guess that dream can no longer come true. " Chiyo said as Sasori cocked his head and Sakura opened her eyes.

"Idiotic... how stupid! Have you gone senile, you old hag?" Sasori asked as Sakura stood up.

"Sakura, are you all right?" Chiyo asked her.

"Yes. Are you, Elder Chiyo?" Sakura asked.

"What happened? I thought your reincarnation technique was supposed to kill you, in exchange for breathing life back into someone else." Sasori said confused.

"Sakura may have been critically injured, but she wasn't dead. That's why I was able to survive." Chiyo explained.

"What a shame." Sasori said before Sakura punched him in the face.

"I'd stop, if I were you. This body fells no pain. Keep hitting me and the only thing you'll hurt is your hand. You women just love to waste your time doing pointless things. Even if my grandmother, my blood, were to die right now, I'd feel nothing. My heart is as my body. She'd just be one more of the hundreds, the thousands, of others that I've killed. Things are much simpler this way." Sasori explained.

"Don't you understand what a life is? What family is?" Sakura shouted.

"Hey, is that really something a shinobi should say?" Sasori asked.

"Why? Why is that the only way you can look at the world?" Sakura shouted.

"It's okay, Sakura." Chiyo said.

"But..." Sakura started.

* * *

Please R&R


	4. Chapter 4

Please R&R

* * *

"Sasori was made into what he is by the twisted, misguided teachings of the Sand Village." Chiyo explained.

"Elder Chiyo..." Sakura started.

"Why don't you try having a body like mine? Maybe then you'll understand. A body that never decays, unbound by mortality. As a puppet, I can repair and recreate myself as often as I need. If I need other people around, I can just make them into more puppets if I think they're worthy. A collection isn't just about numbers. Quality is more important than quantity." Sasori explained.

"What are you?" Sakura asked.

"If I had to choose, I'd say I'm a human who couldn't completely become a puppet. I guess. I exist as a puppet, but an incomplete one with a living human core. Not a person, but not a puppet either. I'll be dead soon. Before I go, I guess I'll do something pointless, too. Consider it a reward for beating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, right?" Sasori managed out before he, Mother and Father fell to the ground.

"Hey!" Sakura shouted as she ran over to him.

"Sakura move, I'll heal him then you'll get your information." Chiyo told her. Sakura waited then Sasori's eyes snapped open.

"Sasori, what where you saying?" Sakura asked.

"In ten days' time, go to the Bridge of Heaven and Earth in the Hidden Village of Grass at noon." Sasori replied.

"What's there?" Sakura asked.

"I've got a spy working as one of Orochimaru's subordinates. We were supposed to rendezvous there." Sasori explained.

"It's over, Elder Chiyo. He's defeated." Sakura said.

"No, I'm the one who should've been killed. Sasori saw through my last attack, but for some reason, he didn't try to dodge. He left himself open; I just don't know why." Chiyo said as she looked at her grandson who had fallen unconscious.

"You don't think he..." Sakura started.

"I don't know but let's get him tied up and to camp before he wakes up." Chiyo told Sakura before Sakura lifted Sasori up and slung him over her shoulders; Chiyo and Sakura headed for their camp.

* * *

Please R&R


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